What is Free and Open Source Software?
In the early days of computers, software was written mostly by academics, and much of it was freely distributed; software was seen then somewhat similarily to a math equation: a scientific discovery to be shared, explored and picked apart. Somewhere along the way, however, software began to be treated as a private technology, its inner workings obscured, and its use and reproduction constricted with copyrights and limitations.
Imagine a world where you needed to pay a license fee to a corporation in order to use the Pythagorean theorem.
Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) is
software that is both Free and Open Source;
the two are related but distinct concepts.
Free Software is commonly described using the
phrase, 'free as in speech, not beer'; it aims to put
the user in control of their software and system, rather
than the other way around. Richard Stallman, the founder
of the free software movement, defines free software as
being software that provides these four essential freedoms:
- The freedom to run the program as you wish, for any purpose (freedom 0).
- The freedom to study how the program works, and change it so it does your computing as you wish (freedom 1). Access to the source code is a precondition for this.
- The freedom to redistribute copies so you can help others (freedom 2).
- The freedom to distribute copies of your modified versions to others (freedom 3). By doing this you can give the whole community a chance to benefit from your changes. Access to the source code is also a precondition for this.
Any piece of software that offers these four freedoms is considered
free. Note that the definition of free software does not
exclude commercial use; it's perfectly acceptable for the developers
of a piece of free software to charge for their work.
Open Source Software, while often using the same licenses to
distribute its software, is not usually motivated by the same philosophies.
Making a piece of software open source carries huge benefits to the project's
development process, including increased security and functionality, owing to the
possibly enormous number of eyes that can read through its source code. Because
of its effects on the success of a piece of software, many companies and
corporations who do not uphold the freedom that free software embodies may still
support open source.
Why should you care about Free and Open Source Software?
Our world is dominated by computers and software. Everyday, we become more and
more dependent on software for work, entertainment, education and communication.
This trend shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Ensuring then the software runnning our lives is
transparent is of utmost importance. Using free and open source software
gurantees us just that: it allows us to 'peek inside' that software, to make sure
it's doing what we want, and only what we want. Most importantly, it means that
we are in control of our software, our computers and our technology,
no one else.